A unique and distinctive culture emerges from the Burning Man experience. Rooted in the values expressed by the Ten Principles, this culture is manifested around the globe through art, communal effort, and innumerable individual acts of self-expression. To many, it is a way of life.

something I've never heard mention of... out of curiosity, what's the policy on potty signage? (meaning signage about using the potties, not "hey my band is playing here") Can anyone post something? Is there a preference/policy on what kind of tape to use or not use?

Basically, I wouldn't want to put up a "No roast chickens in the potties" sign in an effort to help and end up causing damage by using tape that left marks, or cause problems because they weren't put up by "approved" folks. Obviously, they'd be taken down and properly disposed of before leaving.

yeah, I do get the put it up/take it down thing. As I said, that's a given. I'm more wondering about doing so without causing any problems with the potties themselves, so as not to incur fines for BM. Some tapes, like masking tape don't fare well with the dust (read: blow off and make trash). Others, like duct tape, can leave a mess.

(re: sig... HARDLY advertising, but really I hadn't even thought about it. it's my standard sig on any board I'm on, I just copy and paste when I set up an account. it's never been a problem anywhere. if it's against TOU here and I've missed it, just PM me the link and I'll change it. so much more effective than a snarky reply)

yeah, that was a pretty rude reply to someone with a valid question and good intentions. Why do you do that stuff Bysylvyl?

I would think that if you took a Swifter (tm) dusting cloth and knocked the dust off a small area of the potty wall where you want to hang yer poster, that painter's masking tape would stick, yet peel off without leaving a mess.

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Robbidobbs! Where are you?
I think you can put something up but I would do trials of the tape and paper before hand. I think any kind of masking tape will just not hold up. A tape that has a woven material will probably work best. I think gaffers tape would be something that might work and come in a variety of colors. Testing it by watering it while taped to some porta pot like plastic that has been left in the sun for days might work. It might rain this year. You really do have to remove whatever you put up. It may be hard to muster the energy to do this late in the week but it is a necesity. Make a map of where you put them up so it is easy to find them and take them down. Wohoo! Community action!!! I like it.

Black Rock City Welding and Repair. The Night Time Warming Station.

Card Carrying Member BRCCP.

When you pass the 4th "bridge out!" sign; the flaming death is all yours.-Knowmad-

ms dynomite wrote:what's the policy on potty signage? (meaning signage about using the potties, not "hey my band is playing here") Can anyone post something? Is there a preference/policy on what kind of tape to use or not use?

As far as I know, it's up to Johnny on the Spot. I assume they have no contention with a "I put it up, I take it down" policy except that it's so easy to lapse into "I put it up but I forgot where I put all the signs", or "I put it up but I didn't have time at the end of the week to get them all".

In other words, there's no Burning Man rule about it except to be respectful of other people's property. Since the potties are the property of Johnny on the Spot, I would call them -- in fact, I was thinking about putting up signs myself but I haven't been serious enough to warrant calling them. I assume their response will be "please refrain from doing so" but if I were to do so, would signs that are very easy to remove cleanly be preferred? If you find out first, let us know.

no, no, no to gaffers tape. Im from Tennessee and, thus, have extensive knowledge of what we call "duck tape" (as a kid it held together most of our furniture and half our family car.) The intense heat will make the adhesive stick to the plastic of the porta-potties and will definitely piss off JOTS. I dont know why, but I though OP meant posting INSIDE the potties. If that's the case masking tape will work just fine. OUTSIDE, probably not and then you run the risk of highly visible moop.

Teo del Fuego wrote:no, no, no to gaffers tape. Im from Tennessee and, thus, have extensive knowledge of what we call "duck tape" (as a kid it held together most of our furniture and half our family car.) The intense heat will make the adhesive stick to the plastic of the porta-potties and will definitely piss off JOTS. I dont know why, but I though OP meant posting INSIDE the potties. If that's the case masking tape will work just fine. OUTSIDE, probably not and then you run the risk of highly visible moop.

Gaffer tape is easily torn by hand so no cutting tools are necessary. The adhesive used is a high quality synthetic rubber[citation needed] which leaves little or no residue when removed, in contrast to duct tape. When cables are taped down on a stage or other surface, either for safety or to keep them out of view of the audience or camera, they are said to be gaffed or gaffered.

Johnny on the Spot has *only* approved duct tape for signage. It should be reasonably sturdy, and the cheapie stuff from the dollar store, as the glue degrades and the signs fly to the trash fence. They should also be weather proof (rain, wind, hail of toads etc). Gaffer tape and scotch tape leave traces due to melting in the hot sun.

robbidobbs wrote:Johnny on the Spot has *only* approved duct tape for signage. It should be reasonably sturdy, and the cheapie stuff from the dollar store, as the glue degrades and the signs fly to the trash fence.

Well, I'll be....

Not only did I confuse Gaffer and Duct tape, I incorrectly guessed that duct tape was NOT the right stuff for hot and sunny applications.

Okay, Im getting vetoed left and right here, but I guarandamntee ya that plain old duct tape, el cheapo or de lux, stuck on the outside of a JOTS is-- after two days of intense heat--gonna leave one hell of a sticky, gluey mess. But, hey, what's a little more sticky mess in the porta-loos?

Also, Mz. Dobbs's second sentence lacks either punctuation, a key word, or logical clarity. I think she meant to say "and NOT the cheapie stuff from the dollar store, as the glue degrades and the..."

I wonder if the topic of duct tape on a shit house has ever been discussed in as much depth in all of human history?

Well you caught me in a typo.
Your guess was right, what I meant to say was NOT the cheapie duct tape from the dollar store.
In 2003 I was given this to put up the signs and they melted off and I had to go out to the trash fence to pick them off. It was truly embarrassing, given I'm DPW. Since then, I've been getting the duct tape from the hardware store, and it sticks very well w/o leaving trace.

And to clarify how to make them stick better, I wipe the dust off with a cotton scarf (which doubles as dirt mask) before affixing the signs. If you fail this, the signs will come off as well.

JotS hasn't said specifically anything about gaffer tape, they only specified duct tape. Bottom line is that if it doesn't melt in 120 degrees and can withstand 100 mph dirt storms, then the only issue I can imagine is the expense.

Teo del Fuego, thanks so much for your info and for your very funny first reply. I'm with you on wondering if gaffer's tape would be better than duct tape. or maybe Gorilla tape. But at least I know what's "officially" preferred now.

Ugly Dougly wrote:I'll bet if you put signs on the potties advising people not to dump their baby-wipes in them, probably the owner/operators wouldn't mind very much.

Ugly Dougly, Yes, that's exactly the kind of thing I mean. The roast chicken reference earlier was just a joke. my virgin year it was reported that people actually found one in the potties.

I liked the idea mentioned elsewhere of adopting a potty bank, which is what prompted my thread. This is where a person or group of people make efforts to keep the potties near their camp clean and usable through attention and awareness. Things like signs, short shifts at the potty bank reminding people what can't be put in the toilet, offering people baggies for their wet wipes and feminine hygiene products. Keeping the efforts local also eliminates the "I can't remember where I put the signs" issue.

robbidobbs wrote:Johnny on the Spot has *only* approved duct tape for signage. It should be reasonably sturdy, and the cheapie stuff from the dollar store, as the glue degrades and the signs fly to the trash fence. They should also be weather proof (rain, wind, hail of toads etc). Gaffer tape and scotch tape leave traces due to melting in the hot sun.

I have extensive experience with signage and work closely with JotS.

And to clarify how to make them stick better, I wipe the dust off with a cotton scarf (which doubles as dirt mask) before affixing the signs. If you fail this, the signs will come off as well.

JotS hasn't said specifically anything about gaffer tape, they only specified duct tape. Bottom line is that if it doesn't melt in 120 degrees and can withstand 100 mph dirt storms, then the only issue I can imagine is the expense.

RobbiDobbs, Thank you, thank you! I had looked all over the bm web site and couldn't find any info, nor links as to who to contact to find this out. I was hoping to find someone who has done this in the past and knew the deal. That's exactly what I was looking for. So I'm guessing that means there's been no problem with gooky residue with duct tape?

jaycerochester wrote:Since the potties are the property of Johnny on the Spot, I would call them... If you find out first, let us know.

jaycerochester, Thanks. there are so many companies that offer potties, I wasn't sure if it was always Johnny on the Spot, every year. I think RobbiDobbs cleared it up, but if I get more info I'll post back.

ms dynomite wrote:I liked the idea mentioned elsewhere of adopting a potty bank, which is what prompted my thread.

RobbiDobbs, Thank you, thank you! I had looked all over the bm web site and couldn't find any info, nor links as to who to contact to find this out.

So I'm guessing that means there's been no problem with gooky residue with duct tape?

Thank you Ms D for adopting a pottie bank. I am the volunteer coordinator for the porta-johns, so you came to the right place. For more info on what is and what isn't true about the Temples of Smell, pls read All About Participating in the Pottie Project. There is a wealth of info there.

And to answer your last question: The gooky residue occurs from cheap duct tape as my personal experience has shown. If your signs are exterior and made of paper, I also recommend covering them with clear plastic for weather proofing, as it may well rain, and we would want to all read them after the sky clears.

Addendum: JotS is the exclusive vendor for public units. There are personal camp potties provided by them and Sani-Hut, and those are the responsibility of the camps that rent them.

RobbiDobbs,
thanks for that clarification re: tape. and I agree about weather proofing. I live right by a Kinkos so I was planning to have the signs laminated to help them last during the event. I thought that would also make them easier to wipe off if they got covered from a dust storm.

and thanks for the heads up on the Pottie Project. I'm reading through that now and will add any thoughts I have.

While on the subject of tape and the sticky gunk left behind.... one of the best and easiest methods of removing any tape residue is... more tape! Specifically, using the adhesive from a fresh piece of tape in a patting action is likely to remove the residue faster and more efficiently than rubbing with a solvent or rolling it off with your fingers. The tape loves to stick to itself, as anyone who has used it before knows well. We use this method all the time in my work.

There will be 2 banks of 20 back-to-back on all "spokes".
800 units will be placed at the beginning of the week with extras to be placed mid-week as needed. I'm counting on 1000 total units.
All inner-city banks will be on Desert street, except for those behind Cafe, which will be on Estuary. Outer city banks will be as usual: Gate, Greeters, Airport, Open Playa by the Man and the Temple.

Hows the finger?? I,m trying to get a kitty to come out of the wild and live at our house.. He was so hungry I almost lost a finger the frist time I fed him.. So far Got the flea med on him, he was hungry and ate the worm meds.. Yesterday he got a pet on the head and followed me around the yard for a bit..

My house mate Tiger Shredder comes and gets me to feed him.. They talk and lay around on each side of the screen door..

He is starting to asewer to Rusty Cat.. He is butterscotch with little or no voice.. Rusty voice..

Little dose he know about a trip to the doctor I have planed for him..